A Good Night to Meet George Romero

Already folks are lining up for next month's special screening, with George Romero, of Night of the Living Dead.

Already folks are lining up for next month's special screening, with George Romero, of Night of the Living Dead.

Texas Frightmare Weekend -- which bills itself as "the Southwest's premier horror convention," and who am I to argue -- takes place February 22-24 at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine. (Why not late October? Dunno. Too obvious, maybe?) Hell of a lineup they've assembled for the shindig, if only for the scheduled appearance of Malcolm McDowell -- no doubt to chitchat about A Clockwork Orange and Rob Zombie's Halloween redo, and, like, how 'bout the time he killed Captain Kirk?

Turns out, as with the Olympia Dukakis item below, there's also an AFI Dallas tie-in: Via media release this morning, we discover that the night before the Frightmare convention, on February 21 at the Landmark Inwood Theater, AFI Dallas is hosting a special screening of George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead -- with Romero in attendance, post-screening, for a Q&A with the audience. Also attending will be some of the cast members of the film that turns 40 this year. One catch: You can only attend the screening if yer an AFI Dallas e-mail list subscriber or attending Texas Frightmare Weekend. The full media release is below. --Robert Wilonsky

AFI DALLAS and Texas Frightmare Weekend Present Special 40th Anniversary Screening of George Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD at the Inwood Theater

Dallas, TX, January 28, 2008—AFI DALLAS 2008 International Film Festival Presented by Target, Founding Sponsor Victory Park announces it will team with Texas Frightmare Weekend presented by Anchor Bay Entertainment for a special screening of George A. Romero’s horror classic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD on February 21st at the Landmark Inwood Theater.

The seminal 1968 black-and-white independent horror film revolves around the mysterious reanimation of the dead and the efforts of a handful of people to survive the night while trapped in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse. Described as “subversive on many levels,” it has been remade twice, and has also spawned (to date) four subsequent “Dead” films by Romero, including his most recent – DIARY OF THE DEAD, which is scheduled for release on February 15th. A fifth film is in the planning stages. In 1999, the Library of Congress entered NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD into the United States National Film Registry with other films deemed "historically, culturally or aesthetically important."

Featuring an appearance and Q&A after the screening with the legendary director and cast members including Marilyn Eastman, Bill Hinzman, George Kosana, Judith O’Dea, Kyra Schon, Russ Streiner, and John Russo, the screening will utilize rare prints of the film for the special event.

The screening will also kick off an international tour of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD with its director and cast to celebrate the film’s 40th Anniversary.

AFI DALLAS Senior Programmer James Faust stated, “This event is special to AFI DALLAS and Target because it allows us to salute a great influential filmmaker, and as film fans, it allows us to celebrate a film that has truly stood the test of time.”

Texas Frightmare Weekend Director Loyd Cryer agreed, saying, "We are honored to be a part of this salute to one of the most influential independent films of all time. What better way to honor the achievement of these filmmakers than to have the prestigious AFI DALLAS and Texas Frightmare Weekend partner for this milestone event."

Attendance at the event is only available to members of the AFI DALLAS and Texas Frightmare Weekend subscriber lists. To receive this exclusive invitation, film fans must visit AFIDALLAS.com or texasfrightmareweekend.com and subscribe to their e-mail lists.

Texas Frightmare Weekend takes place February 22-24 at the Dallas Hilton DFW Lakes. Passes and tickets for the festival are available online (www.texasfrightmareweekend.com), as well as additional information regarding the weekends schedule and additional events.